Inuyasha, Have You Been Practicing Riding My Bike?
by Majik2
Summary: Inuyasha is bored, so he decides to pass the time by riding on a certain girl's bicycle....
1. Default Chapter

TITLE: Inuyasha, Have You Been Practicing Riding My Bike?  
  
AUTHOR: Majik  
  
RATING: PG, for a bit o' language.  
  
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to the goddess Rumiko Takhashi. All bow down and pay homage to the greatest manga writer of the century!  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Eh, I hate to babble, but I must at least say that I've never written a fan fiction before, though I've read plenty of them. Therefore, there might be a bit of OOC in this fic. Also, it's a one-shot. Just FYI. Oh, and I got this idea from one of the IY manga-the sixth one, when Miroku shows up and takes off with the Shikon shard and Kagome's back. As Inuyasha takes off after the monk with the girl on his back, he says, "He can't have gone far! It's impossible to master that metal cart of yours quickly!" To which Kagome replies. "Inuyasha, have you been practicing riding my bike?" He tells her to shut up, but I found it an honest and intriguing question, not to mention one that created a great mental image in my head. So, in light of that, this story takes place shortly after Miroku shows up, but definitely before Sango.  
  
Okay, enough of me-get reading! And don't forget to review! I live for feedback!  
  
  
  
~*~Inuyasha, Have You Been Practicing Riding My Bike?~*~  
  
**********  
  
She was gone again. That bitch.  
  
She must have gone away for her tests. Did a day not go by that he heard nothing of such things? "I have to study, I'm doing poorly, I can't fail anymore, everyone thinks I'm dead, there are rumors that I never even existed, blah-blah-blah."  
  
Feh. One of these days he'd seal the well for good, and then she'd never leave him.  
  
That didn't sound right to him.  
  
"Inuyasha, you're still brooding, aren't you?"  
  
The hanyou growled and opened his eyes to slits. The little fox kitsune was sitting on top of the well, his short legs dangling and his brown hair rustling in the wind. He was wearing a pleased Cheshire grin. "Shut up."  
  
"You are brooding! You miss Kagome, don't you?"  
  
"We're wasting valuable time. We could have had the Shikon no Tama completed by now!"  
  
"You're just saying that because you like to complain. Kagome says you're a 'drama mama', whatever that means."  
  
Inuyasha growled. He had had enough. He bopped the fox child on the head and walked away.  
  
"Hey! Inuyasha! You can't treat me like that!" Shippo shook a fist after the half-demon. "When Kagome gets back, I'm telling! And she'll 'sit' you so hard you'll never move!"  
  
Inuyasha cringed. The boy had a point. For some reason, that stupid wench loved to use that spell. 'Must be a power trip thing,' he thought, mentally grumbling. Then he grinned as he remembered the feel of a hard skull beneath his fist. 'Eh. It was worth it.'  
  
There was a shriek, a slap, and then the sound of angry feet clopping away. Inuyasha arched an eyebrow and moved toward the source of the sound. Down at the riverbed Miroku was sitting cross-legged, a growing red spot on his cheek. Smirking, the dog-demon moved swiftly and sat beside the monk.  
  
Miroku heaved a sigh. "No one is ever going to bear my child."  
  
"Not if you ask them that way, they won't. They think you're a pervert."  
  
"My intentions are strictly honorable. I just want an heir. Any woman would do."  
  
"No one will ever say yes."  
  
"A girl did once, actually."  
  
"Yet you keep asking. I take it that one time didn't go well.?"  
  
"No. I didn't take her up on it."  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"She was ugly." Miroku smiled sheepishly. "I do not think I will ever understand women."  
  
"Keh. Of course you won't." He mumbled under his breath, "Women make no sense."  
  
"Trouble with Kagome?" he asked with a sly grin. "I am beginning to think that my original guess of you two being involved was not that far off the mark."  
  
"Watch it, lech. I'm not beneath killing a monk."  
  
"She sneaked off in the dark this time, didn't she?"  
  
Inuyasha frowned. This was true; in the dead of night Kagome slipped out of her sleeping bag and ran for the well. He had not been asleep-not really- but had been dozing. By the time he was aware of what she was doing, she had already gone. He dare not follow, for the 'sits' would not be worth it. Like a dog, he was truly being trained. "Yes. In the dark."  
  
"And she left behind everything. Her pack and her metal carriage. I wonder- "  
  
"She's out of ramen." He'd already looked.  
  
"Not that. I wonder if she would mind if I rode her metal carriage again."  
  
Inuyasha scowled. When this monk with his questionable morals had first tried to get Kagome's-no, his-Shikon shard, he had made off on Kagome's bike. And he had ridden it later, too, when they learned that the corrupted painter had a shard. 'How did he manage to ride that thing?' Inuyasha secretly wondered. It didn't look very sturdy, and it seemed extremely uncomfortable. How had Miroku ridden it so well? Kagome had practiced, but the monk.  
  
"I'm sure she would," he huffed.  
  
"It was fun. The whole idea of a carriage like that is quite practical. Won't carry much, true, but it is much faster than walking, and helpful for just one person. I don't think she would mind if I took another ride."  
  
Inuyasha stood up. "Don't try it, monk. If you dent the girl's carriage, I'll be blamed."  
  
"Nonsense. Kagome would never-"  
  
"Feh." He walked away, leaving the monk still talking.  
  
**********  
  
It had been three days, and still Kagome hadn't returned. Inuyasha was getting restless. 'What can she be doing in that stupid world of hers?' he grumbled. 'And without her dumb books, too! Leaving her pack and carriage.feh.'  
  
Presently he was sitting beside the strange cart. It looked very wiry and unsteady. The round wheels were coated with a thin black material that repelled his finger when he touched it. Long handles sprouted out from the supposed front of the thing. A triangular pad sat up halfway in the back; flat footholds stuck out down near the bottom of the metal 'A' frame. This was her 'bike', the thing she rode on when she wasn't riding Inuyasha.  
  
Again, that sounded wrong somehow.  
  
He stood up and grabbed one of the handles with a strong fist and lifted it from the boulder it was laying against. The carriage was very lightweight to him, and he could easily carry it on his shoulder, as he often ended up doing. His other hand traced down the frame. It was very smooth and quite cold to his touch. Still holding up the bike, he rubbed at the triangular pad. Soft and black, it felt good beneath his fingertips. With his foot he kicked at one of the footholds. It spun around, making the back wheel spin as well.  
  
'So that is how it works,' he thought. 'When Kagome is on this carriage, she sits on the triangle and puts her feet on these platforms. Pushing those platforms makes the wheels turn, which makes the carriage move. Still think it's stupid, though.'  
  
He wondered.  
  
No.  
  
If anyone saw him, it'd be the end of his life as he knew it. He'd never live the ridicule down. Shippo's taunts would be the worst, of course, but it wasn't like the monk and the wench wouldn't bring up the subject. It was too dangerous a risk.  
  
"It was fun," echoed Miroku's words in his mind.  
  
"Demons don't do fun," he muttered. But of course, Inuyasha was not a full youkai.just a hanyou.  
  
No!  
  
Sulking, he let go of the bike and watched it fall with a clatter to the ground. It made a terrible creaking sound, so sharp in his ears it made him wince. "Gah." He leaned over and set the carriage upright again. Somehow it didn't seem right to let it lay on its side like that. Kagome had told him it was supposed to stay vertical at all times, whatever vertical meant.  
  
Absently he pushed the square platform with his foot again. The back wheel spun; the carriage tried to escape his grasp. He picked it up off the ground to keep it from getting away. Then he pawed at the platform again, faster this time, and likewise the wheel spun faster. He tried to see how fast he could get it to go. Soon the wheel was spinning so swiftly he could no longer see the metal spokes, and the black tread was just a blur.  
  
'Heh. This is kinda fun.'  
  
He stopped pushing the pedal and let the wheel slow until it stopped. Then he put it back down on the ground again. With a quick look around, he swung one leg over the metal pole and stood over the carriage. Now the thing seemed quite small to him. Well, Kagome was smaller than he was, and this was her cart, so it was fitting that he was too big for it. But compared to this.he was so big.  
  
What was up with the wrongness?  
  
Grabbing hold of the handles just as he had seen Kagome do it, he eased back on the triangle. His feet still touched the ground and held him and the carriage steady as he made himself comfortable. At first it was painful, but as he shifted and adjusted, he became more and more contented. This wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be.  
  
With some dismay Inuyasha noticed how hunched over he felt. The seat was very low to him, and the handles seemed far away. His back was arched, and he felt as though he were on the verge of falling forward on his face. Ah, but he knew of no way to fix this irregularity, and would just have to make an adjustment.  
  
Leaning on his left foot, he slowly lifted his right foot and put it on the pedal. The carriage wobbled. He bit his lip in concentration, still leaning over on his left side. His foot made contact with the pedal, and the carriage's trembling stopped. 'Ah,' he mentally sighed. 'Got it.' Then he lifted up his left foot and put it on the pedal.  
  
For a second all was right with the world. Inuyasha smiled, quite pleased with his accomplishment. And then the carriage wobbled and fell to the left, bringing the hanyou along with it.  
  
The cart fell on top of Inuyasha. He lay there on the ground for a second, his long legs wrapped around the metal carriage, the weight not crushing but certainly not pleasant. He was a bit dazed as to what had happened. Then he realized where he was. In a smooth movement he shoved the cart off of him and jumped up, growling at invisible eyes. Looking everywhere, he saw no one, but that did not ease the redness off of his cheeks nor the gnarled snarl off his lips.  
  
'Gah! Stupid-stupid thing! Feh!' He kicked at the wheel, which hurt his foot. Sitting down, he sucked at his toe, which stung with pain.  
  
He glared at the carriage for an hour, willing it to melt and disappear forever, and for him to forget about the whole venture and go get that bitch.  
  
None of that happened, of course.  
  
**********  
  
"Have you seen Inuyasha?" Shippo asked Kaeda.  
  
"No," the old woman replied, stirring up some herbs in a pot. "I assume he's gone to get Kagome."  
  
"I'm kinda glad. I miss Kagome. I just wish he wasn't so mean to her. I'll go wait for them by the well."  
  
Shippo bounced out of the hut and through the village.  
  
It was such a lovely day today, with warm sun and a gentle cooling breeze. Maybe later they could all go for a bath-well, him and Kagome, anyway. Inuyasha and Miroku were never invited. And then she could cook up a delicious meal for him, and they would snuggle together that night and look at the stars and-  
  
He stopped dead in his little fox tracks.  
  
Inuyasha was sitting on Kagome's carriage. He was trying to get himself balanced up on its seat, but to no avail. The hanyou fell over, but immediately jumped up and stood the cart up again.  
  
This was a dangerous moment. Shippo could burst out laughing and die, or he could hold in his giggles and walk away. Though, seeing the look of panic and embarrassment on Inuyasha's face would be worth a risk of death.no. If he left now, he could tell everyone in the village.  
  
Very quietly, the kitsune turned on his heel and hurried back to Kaeda's village.  
  
**********  
  
He almost had it. He knew he was so close.  
  
Inuyasha had learned much in the last hour. The carriage would not stay upright if you just sat up there You had to push the pedals and make it move if you didn't want it to fall over. His balance was not that great, but if he just tried to sit up straight and not lean even the slightest bit to either side, he would not fall over. That was easier said than done, of course, but he was not doing too badly. He had fallen over many times. He had hit rocks and holes in the grasses, and been thrown off the bike, but always he had come back.  
  
You had to pedal fairly hard if you wanted to move in the grass. Steering was difficult too. At first Inuyasha had turned the handles too far to one side, and the wheel would sleep and the bike would fall over. Then he learned you must turn it just the slightest bit-never all the way.  
  
Stopping-well, he hadn't had any problems with stopping. He had never gone far enough or fast enough to need to stop. But he was certain that if you wanted to stop you would just jump off.  
  
He would try that now. Inuyasha mounted the bike and put his right foot on the pedal. He pushed off with his left foot, hurriedly put it on the pedal, and shoved hard. The wheels turned and the bike quivered dangerously, threatening to toss him off. But he would not give in to the bike's evil wish. Struggling to stay up, he pedaled faster. Inuyasha, feeling pretty confident now, leaned forward over the handlebar. It was a very uncomfortable position, yes, but the wind in his hair and the ecstatic triumphant feeling was too overpowering.  
  
He pedaled down the hill, around to the right, and then back up the hill again. He was aware that he was getting far away from the village and the well, but that didn't matter. Why, he'd just ride this carriage back there! And no one would ever know. He snickered to himself. No one, not Shippo, not Miroku, not even Kagome would know that he had learned how to ride the bike. It was his own little secret, and he was its master!  
  
Time to make it stop. Instead of falling over, he agilely leapt off of the carriage. He rolled but jumped up to his feet. The bike continued to roll forward, riderless. The smile dripped off his face and his eyes widened in alarm. The carriage came up to the riverbed and kept going. It splashed into the water and finally stopped.  
  
'Shit!' He ran after it, dashing madly into the cold water. Inuyasha found the bike. He immediately hoisted it from the water and clambered out of the river with it. He set the carriage down and shook himself for a while, trying to get dry. 'Apparently jumping off of it does not make it stop,' he decided.  
  
That's when the scent tickled his nose. That faint aroma, so intense and yet gentle, a definite smell that could only belong to one person.  
  
He jumped up, a faint smile on his lips. "Ah! Kagome's back!" Then his face fell. 'Shit! Kagome's back!' He grabbed the bike and dashed up over the hill. Where had it been originally? He couldn't remember! By the well? He couldn't take it back to the well-she'd see him with it!  
  
The hanyou came skidding into Kaeda's village. He ran straight through the houses and dashed all the way up to the well. Without ceremony he let the bike bang against the well wall and then took off running. If she got him with the carriage, he'd never hear the end of it.  
  
**********  
  
"Guys! I'm back! Shippo! Inuyasha!" Kagome pulled herself up the well's rocky wall. It never got easier, no matter how many time she climbed up it. She thought she heard a scuffling up above her. "Inuyasha? Is that you?" Then the noise was gone. Shrugging, she continued her climb.  
  
She got up out of the well and sat on its side, stretching her arms out and yawning. Her bike was lying up against the wall. 'Did I leave my bike like that when I left?' she wondered. 'And when did it get so dirty.?'  
  
"Kagome!" cried Shippo, coming up over a hill and jumping into the girl's arms. Kagome chuckled and hugged the kitsune back. "I'm so glad you're back! I missed you."  
  
"I missed you too."  
  
"Lady Kagome!" Miroku came up over the hill, smiling widely. "It is good to have you return, milady." He took her hand and gently kissed it.  
  
Going crimson, Kagome withdrew her hand and stood up. "Where's Inuyasha?"  
  
Both boys grinned slyly. "Um, well, about Inuyasha." started Miroku.  
  
**********  
  
Inuyasha had made a wide loop around Kaeda's village and come back to the Goshin Boku. He was trying to look as innocent as possible, which was hard for a dog-demon who knows he's been naughty. And Kagome would definitely punish him. Gods, what was up with all the wrongness?  
  
"Hey, Inuyasha!"  
  
There she was, right below him. He opened an eye and casually leaned over to glare at her. "Finally came back, eh? It's about time."  
  
"Gomen, it's just.I've been kinda busy."  
  
Inuyasha jumped down and stood before her. He noticed that someone-probably Miroku-had given her the bag back. "Busy without your books? You left your pack here, baka."  
  
"Yeah, I know.my Jii-chan has been sick lately, and Mama wanted me to come help her with the house and take care of Souta, so I didn't really need my bag, even though it did have some of my school books in it. Gomen nesai for leaving in the middle of the night. I just had this feeling, ya know? Woman's intuition."  
  
"Keh. I couldn't care less."  
  
She smiled. "Well, that's good, because I have to go again. I just came back to explain why I left. I should have come back earlier, I know, but I was so busy. Well, I had some time, and I figured I'd just come say it'll definitely be another few days."  
  
He scowled, but thought, 'If she's gone, I can practice more, if she leaves the bike.' "I already said I don't care, didn't I?"  
  
"Yes. Well, I'm off. Ja ne!" And she ran off.  
  
Inuyasha smiled. A few more days of bike riding. Quite lucky indeed.  
  
**********  
  
It had been two days now Kagome had been gone. Inuyasha felt it safe to return to his bike riding ventures. Miroku seemed busy talking to the ladies in the village, and Shippo was off playing with these weird colored sticks Kagome had brought him.  
  
He had taken the bike back to the hill, far from well and village, and had been riding it all day. He was very good now-his balance was nearly perfect, and he rarely fell over. Now he was learning that if he pulled up on the handlebar and kept pedaling, he could ride with the front wheel in the air. Not too useful, true, but still a lot of fun.  
  
On this particular day he was so engrossed in learning these neat 'tricks' that he had failed to notice the familiar odor of a certain female individual. Kagome had returned.  
  
**********  
  
"Are you sure he went over here?"  
  
Shippo tugged violently at the girl's arm. "Yes, yes, now come on before he realizes that you're here!" He pulled harder. "Come on, come on!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"  
  
The fox cub led her far from the village, through a light forest and up a hill to where the river widened and fell in a waterfall, eventually flowing to the sea. And there was Inuyasha, easily riding along the bank on her bike.  
  
Kagome snickered. 'I thought it looked beat up the last time I was here!' "Oh, this is priceless," she whispered to Shippo. "To tell you the truth, I didn't believe you when you said he was riding my bike!"  
  
"Foxes never lie!"  
  
She raised her camera and, after ensuring the flash was off, snapped a picture. Inuyasha never noticed. "Man, this is great."  
  
"Come on, let's leave-if he catches us here we're both dead!" The pair sneaked off, barely containing their giggles.  
  
And the hanyou was none the wiser.  
  
**********  
  
A few days later Kagome returned for good. Inuyasha-who had decided that since he didn't know for sure when the girl was coming back, it was too risky to keep riding, and had left the bike by the well-came upon Kagome sitting with Shippo and Miroku by the well. Kagome had some sort of book on her lap, and the two boys were staring down at it eagerly.  
  
"These 'photographs' of yours are like very nice paintings, Lady Kagome," Miroku was saying.  
  
"Yeah. I like this one the best!" said Shippo, pointing to a picture and then giggling madly.  
  
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's definitely the best one."  
  
"And such a great shot too!" concurred Miroku.  
  
"Hey. What are you idiots looking at?" Inuyasha stormed right up to the trio and stood in front of them, hands on his hips and fang over his lip.  
  
Kagome slipped the picture out of its jacket and held it up. "This. Isn't it so kawaii?"  
  
Inuyasha leaned forward to inspect the photo. And that's when all the color drained out of the hanyou's face. His eyes widened and lips drooped as his face paled beyond imagination. It was a picture of him riding on Kagome's bike. And worse-he was smiling!  
  
"Inuyasha," started Kagome with a crafty grin, "have you been practicing riding my bike?"  
  
"Give me that!" The dog-demon lunged for the picture.  
  
Kagome pulled her arm back and cried out, "Oswari!" The necklace gleamed and Inuyasha fell face first onto the ground. Miroku and Shippo started laughing.  
  
"You give me that picture or I'll rip you all to shreds!" The hanyou struggled to get up.  
  
"Oswari!" cried Kagome again. "Oswari, oswari, oswari!" Inuyasha was now a crater in the ground.  
  
"Who told you?" he growled, though his voice was muffled through the dirt. "Who told you?"  
  
Shippo giggled. "It was Miroku."  
  
"It was Shippo!" protested the monk.  
  
"It was woman's intuition!" declared Kagome.  
  
Inuyasha reached up and grabbed Kagome's hand. Surprised, the girl let go of the photo, which fluttered down to the ground. She told him to sit again and he let go. But just as she reached down to scoop up the picture he grabbed it and shredded it madly.  
  
All was still. After a minute or so Inuyasha rolled over on his back, groaning, and sat up. He glared with a smug grin at Kagome. "Ha!" His fingers played with the little pieces of paper that had been the incriminating picture. "I got it!"  
  
"Baka!" Kagome stood up on the well wall. "Don't think I didn't get doubles printed up! Oswari!" She jumped back and disappeared back into her own time.  
  
"Eh, Shippo, I think now is a good time to run!" Miroku picked up the kitsune and headed back to the village.  
  
Inuyasha moaned. His back was killing him; there was no way he'd be sitting up for a while. 'Damn her. Her and her bike. It's her own fault for leaving it here.' But even that didn't make him feel any better.  
  
"DAMMIT!"  
  
**********  
  
And back in Kagome's time, she and her family were enjoying a good laugh about a certain dog demon riding a certain bicycle.  
  
  
  
Tee-hee! The end! Hope y'all enjoyed it! The ending is a little lame, truly, but I thought it was still a funny fic. But it doesn't matter what I think-tell me what you think! Hit that button and leave a few words. It means the world to me. Ja ne! 


	2. Chapter 2 duh

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wowie! Thanks for all the reviews! I feel the love.I really do! And I wasn't going to do a sequel, but somebody (::cough, cough:: ssipan ::cough, cough::) gave me an idea..Beware, this actually contains some plot---and a bit of fluff! I am as shocked and appalled as you are! But you know we love it. ;) It's also a tad silly. Sorry, but when Fluffy gets in the mix, how can it not be stupidly hilarious? Well, enjoy!  
  
  
  
Kagome had a time getting the thing up the well, but it was worth it.  
  
She had also had a time trying to convince her family to buy it. Sure, they had seen the picture, but bicycles "don't just fall off of trees, you know." But after much nagging she got her mother to cough up the cash.  
  
Now she wasn't so sure that had been the hard part.  
  
After much struggling she got the bicycle up the well. Carefully she pulled herself out and straightened it up. It really was nice. It was bigger than hers-well, Inuyasha was big, wasn't he? That didn't sound right, somehow. It was red, much more manly than her girlish pink. And the new-metal shine hadn't worn off, so the bike gleamed in the sunlight of Sengoku Jidai. The tires had fantastic tread and were full of air. His bike was just so perfect and spiffy she was almost jealous.  
  
Then again.this was Inuyasha she was talking about. She could see it now: "Wench, take it back, there is no way I am going to ride a bike in front of you people!" And all her hard work would go down the drain.  
  
Not if she could help it.  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
Right on schedule, Shippo came leaping up from the village. He caught sight of the new bike and stopped running. Then he rolled over on the ground, laughing his head off. "Wah-hah-hah! Is that a carriage? For Inuyasha! He'll kill you! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"  
  
Kagome sighed. This was about the reaction she'd expected. "If worst come to worst Miroku can use it. And Inuyasha can just sit and sulk because he knows he wants to ride it. We both know that, right, Shippo?"  
  
This sent the kitsune into giggles again, and even Kagome couldn't help but laugh. She had put one of the photos in a frame for her desk (how often did she get to see Inuyasha smiling, anyway?) and put another one up in her locker at school. She wished she had more pictures like that.  
  
"Eh, bitch! You've come back, eh? Think it's safe?" Inuyasha came storming up the hill, looking pissed as usual. But when he caught sight of the other bike he stopped running towards her and huffily folded his arms. "Keh. What the hell is that?"  
  
"It's a bike." Kagome put up its kickstand and rolled it over towards him. "Brand new, in fantastic condition, and it's really pretty. I convinced my mama to buy it for you."  
  
"There is no way I am going to ride that."  
  
Was she psychic or not? "Why not?"  
  
"Because it's not pink!" laughed Shippo.  
  
Inuyasha growled and bopped the kitsune so hard on the head the boy cried out in excruciating pain. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Inuyasha. We all know now that you like to ride my bike. I figured this could be something for fun. Hey, it may even come in handy someday, eh?"  
  
"I am not going to ride it!"  
  
"Inuyasha!" she screamed suddenly. After all that work! And he was just going to let his pride get in the way? "Oswari!"  
  
The boy flipped forward and slammed into the ground, spitting up a cloud of dust and dirt. "Gak!"  
  
"I go through hell and high water to get you this bike and you won't ride it because you're a hanyou and everyone knows that demons don't ride bikes, is that it? Come on! You just deny yourself something that makes you happy because of your stubborn pride!"  
  
"Demons don't ride bicycles!" he protested.  
  
"Inuyasha! Ride the thing!"  
  
Pouting, Inuyasha took the bike roughly from her and swung a leg over it. Instantly he noticed that it was bigger than hers, and much more comfortable to him. Trying very hard not to grin, he steadied himself and pushed off with his left foot. And he pedaled away.  
  
Shippo burst out laughing again. "Ha! Look at him! Some demon, eh, Kagome?"  
  
The girl had gone to get her own bike, left for cleaning in Kaeda's village.  
  
Shippo frowned. "Kagome? Kagome?"  
  
There was a sound. An awful sound----a sound of rubber against the ground, the whir of metallic pedals, and the evil chuckling low in a hanyou's throat.  
  
Shippo's eyes teared up. "Kagome?" he whispered, his throat so tight he couldn't breathe.  
  
The sound was getting closer. The rustling of the grasses in the wind was soon overshadowed by this metallic whistling. Shippo slowly turned and looked over his shoulder.  
  
The bike was upon him.  
  
"WAH!" Shippo turned and bounded off, running on all fours like a typical fox demon.  
  
"You little kitsune!" screamed Inuyasha, pedaling faster. "I'll show you! Yarou!"  
  
**********  
  
"I thought Kagome had returned?" said Kaeda.  
  
"She did." Miroku sipped at the warm soup the old woman had prepared. "She is missing a marvelous meal."  
  
"Well, where is she?"  
  
"She is with Inuyasha, I believe. Off 'biking'."  
  
"It's dangerous." Shippo poked his nose out of the safety of the covers on Kaeda's bed. "He tried to run me over!"  
  
"You pick on him. Not that he doesn't deserve it." Miroku finished off the soup. "More?"  
  
"I find it strange a hanyou like Inuyasha would allow himself a simple human pleasure." Kaeda ladled up more soup for the monk. "Are you sure...?"  
  
"Yes, Kaeda. They're off 'biking'."  
  
Kaeda turned a worried eye to the doorway of her hut. There lay a sheath, with a handle sticking out of one end. (Yes, foreshadowing. Pay attention) "Inuyasha is taking an awful risk.."  
  
**********  
  
"Eh, Inuyasha! I'm faster than you!" Kagome pedaled harder, speeding easily across the field.  
  
"You've had more practice! Slow down, bitch!"  
  
"First one to the other side of the river wins!" As she approached the riverbank Kagome pulled on the hand brake on her bike (something Inuyasha had never mastered). The bike skidded to a stop and she jumped off. Without a further thought she plunged into the cold water, dragging her bicycle along with her.  
  
"Ha! That'll slow you down!" Inuyasha jumped off his bike----well, he still didn't know about the brake----and hoisted it on his shoulder. Then he nimbly jumped across the river.  
  
"Hey, that's not far!"  
  
"Yeah, well, you have had more practice." Inuyasha jumped on his bike and pedaled up the steep hill, leaving Kagome struggling to get up on hers.  
  
When he reached the top-ah, where else was there to go but down? He found he did not need to pedal, so he lifted his legs up and coasted. The wind was marvelous! This was so much fun! How could he have ever resisted, anyway?  
  
And because of his blissful elation, he did not realize something quite important until it was too late.  
  
"Dear brother of mine. What are you doing?"  
  
Inuyasha stopped. Or, he would have stopped, if he knew anything about brakes. He tried to turn around, too, which caused the bike to flip over on its side, toppling over Inuyasha. The hanyou recovered quickly and pulled himself out from under the bike.  
  
'Sesshoumaru and his crummy toady Jaken! Shit! How did I miss their smell?' "Here for the Tetsusaiga, eh, Sesshoumaru? Well, you'll get it, but not in the way you think!" He reached for his sword and pulled the majestic blade from his sheath-  
  
Or not.  
  
In dismay Inuyasha looked at his empty hands.  
  
Also in dismay Sesshoumaru looked at the same.  
  
'Where is it?' Inuyasha thought frantically. 'My Tetsusaiga-where is it?'  
  
His thoughts raced back across the plains into the village up to Kaeda's hut and to the doorway where the scabbard and rustic katana lay.  
  
And a scream rang out through the land.  
  
**********  
  
Kagome had finally gotten herself up on her bike and was struggling to get up the steep hill. 'Was that a scream? Sure sounded like it. I wonder where it came from.and I also wonder how he got up this hill so fast! It's so very steep!'  
  
She struggled for a little longer and then finally reached the top. Then she coasted down like Inuyasha had done, right down into the forest like Inuyasha had done, and right upon Sesshoumaru and Jaken, just like Inuyasha had done.  
  
"Eek!" she cried upon seeing the hanyou's dastardly (gods, I love that word) half-brother. "Inuyasha! There's Sesshoumaru!"  
  
Inuyasha sweat-dropped. "I know."  
  
"And Jaken!"  
  
"Yes, I know that."  
  
She gasped. "You left your Tetsusaiga!"  
  
"Yeah, I know that too!"  
  
Kagome frowned. "Are we going to lose?"  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked. "If there is no prize, you're not worth the time. But what is this interesting human toy you're playing with?" He pointed to the bikes, having noted that the human girl had come riding up on something similar to his metal contraption.  
  
"It's not a toy!" Inuyasha grumbled, cheeks burning. He wasn't sure which was more embarrassing-having forgotten his sword, or having the bike. Both were high up there on the embarrassment meter.  
  
"Even this doesn't suit you, half-breed," said Sesshoumaru with a disdainful smirk. "It's a bad enough disgrace to have human blood in your body, but to actually participate in strange human activities! Really!"  
  
"It's not strange!" protested Kagome. "It's just bike riding! And it's exercising!"  
  
Sesshoumaru grabbed the bike and pulled it towards him. "Interesting toy."  
  
"Hey!" yelled Inuyasha. "Yarou, that's mine! Give it back!"  
  
"I don't think so, brother."  
  
"Sankon Tetsusou!" screamed Inuyasha, slicing wildly at his half-brother. But Sesshoumaru easily stepped out of the way, avoiding all the blows. (Let's face it, the Tetsusaiga makes the hanyou. End of story.)  
  
"Come on, Jaken," instructed Sesshoumaru, putting the bike up on his good shoulder (I assume the one without the arm is a bad shoulder, neh?). "There is nothing here but a fool and his toys."  
  
"Right away, my master!" agreed the toady. And the two made off into the forest.  
  
"Hey! Bastard! Come back with my bike!" Inuyasha would have charged after him, too, except for a single word..  
  
"Oswari."  
  
Slam. "Hey! What did you do that for?" grumbled Inuyasha with a mouth full of mud.  
  
"What can you do without the Tetsusaiga?" she asked, shrugging. "I mean, against your brother, you really need your father's fang. Why, he'd cut you to bits! And it shouldn't all be over a bike."  
  
"Earlier you were complaining because I didn't want it, now you don't want me to have it! What is up with you?"  
  
"Well, nothing." She dragged a toe through the dirt. "It's just..I dunno. I know I had a hard time getting that bike and stuff, but it's not worth you getting killed. You know?"  
  
It was touching that she cared for him, and he did realize that, but---- "You don't know for sure he'd kill me!" yelled the dog demon, a scowl upon his face.  
  
"True. But why chance it?" She gave him a bright smile. "Come on----you can ride my bike back to the village."  
  
"And what will you do?"  
  
"Ride with you."  
  
Skeptical, Inuyasha mounted her bike and steadied himself like a professional. Then without warning Kagome leapt on the back of it, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The bike wobbled with the extra weight, but he corrected it and took off pedaling.  
  
**********  
  
"Aye, Master Sesshoumaru, what do you suppose this thing is?" asked Jaken, warily jabbing at a tire with his Staff of Heads.  
  
"Some sort of metal carriage, it seems." Sesshoumaru inspected it closely.  
  
"Wonder how it works. Well, it doesn't matter. It's obviously a foolish human contraption, and great youkai such as yourself, lord Sesshoumaru, shouldn't bother with it, aye?"  
  
But Sesshoumaru put a leg over the metal frame and sat back on the triangular plush pad. And he put his feet up on the flat black platforms that were obviously meant for feet. And then he fell over.  
  
"HOW THE HELL DOES THIS THING WORK?"  
  
**********  
  
As the two rode across the grasses towards the village (don't ask how they got across that river, okay? It was the magic of the paper), they heard a frustrated scream ring out: "HOW THE HELL DOES THIS THING WORK?"  
  
Both blinked. Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at the girl and said, "Kagome?"  
  
Just as bewildered, she replied, "Yes, Inuyasha?"  
  
"Let us never speak of this whole bike thing again."  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
  
  
THE END! For real this time, people. But I got another idea.so keep your eyes peeled.if I'm not busy writing episode summaries I'll get it done! Ja ne! 


End file.
